For Windows PC maintenance, the defrag
tool is an important component of the PC users armamentarium.
Defragging keeps data files properly organized and allows programs to
run quicker and efficiently. Windows comes with a built in
defragmenter, but it only runs manually or on a timed schedule.
While it gets the job done, there are better products out on the
market. One of the most highly touted comes from the Diskeeper
company. They are the makers of the aptly named Diskeeper 2008.
As hard drives become bigger, the
possibility of fragmentation increases. Using innovative
technologies that work behind the scenes, your hard drives will never
succumb to fragmentation slow down with Diskeeper 2008 on duty. Some
of these components have impressive names such as: InviTasking
Technology, I-FAAST 2.0, Frag Shield 2.0. Today I will look at the
Professional version of this degfragmenting software.
Let’s get started….
Diskeeper 2008 Professional
Reviewed by: Tomas Ratas
Sponsor: Diskeeper
Tech Specs,Features or the
Basic Info:
hardware support:
Diskeeper runs on the Intel x86 platforms (including compatible
CPUs from other manufacturers).
functional limits:
-Maximum supported volume size: 1TB
Note: high-powered desktop systems with volume sizes up to 2TB
will need Diskeeper
2008 Pro Premier.
Disk subsystems supported:
-Primary Partitions
-Extended Partitions
-Logical Drives
-Volume Sets
-RAID Arrays (hardware and software)
-Mirrored Disks
-Mounted Volumes (letter-less drives)
resource requirements
The disk space requirements for Diskeeper depend on several
factors. The Diskeeper installation package is about 60 MB. After the
installation is complete, Diskeeper occupies about 38 MB of disk
space. If Internet Explorer is not present on your computer, some
other needed files (hhupd.exe, 50comupd.exe, and wintdist.exe) may be
added. Further, your system may require a new or updated version of
the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), which is less than 6 MB.
additional software
requirements
Diskeeper relies on the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). The
MMC provides a single point of control for system utilities such as
Diskeeper. The MMC is used as a central location for a variety of
Microsoft and third party administrative tools.
a note about firewalls
As a normal part of its operation, the Diskeeper Service
(DkService.exe)
acts as a server on your system. If you are running a hardware or
software firewall, you may see messages indicating Diskeeper Service
is trying to act as a server. These messages are expected; you can
safely allow these events. This functionality is designed to allow
for support for network operations (e.g. Remote Control) via
Diskeeper Administrator.
You may also be notified that Diskeeper is trying to access the
Internet. It is important to note that Diskeeper does not access the
Internet (except when you specifically use the Check for Updates
feature), but it does use Windows mechanisms that may trigger these
alerts from your firewall. Again, these messages are expected and you
can safely allow the events. If networkability or automatic update
checking is not required, you can safely disable this.
Diskeeper 2008 Professional Edition
Diskeeper 2008 Professional edition puts your system in the
driver’s seat, allowing you to enjoy unprecedented performance and
reliability while you work. Fragmented hard drives drain critical
system resources and compromise almost every aspect of daily computer
use, leading to longer load times, persistent lags and costly
crashes.
Diskeeper 2008 elevates system performance, debugging
fragmentation-based problems as they occur, without ever compromising
vital system resources, even during times of heaviest demand.
The Breakthrough Of InvisiTasking
InvisiTasking’s true transparent, background processing technology
allows Diskeeper 2008 to defragment your computer in real-time,
completely eliminating the need for cumbersome maintenance
operations.
Free up gridlocked resources and let your computer hum along at
peak performance while you work. Diskeeper 2008 Professional enhances
the reliability and performance of your computer—automatically!
Increase Computer Speed
Your computers will run faster with Diskeeper 2008
installed—period. You’ll enjoy using every aspect of your
system—from downloading to accessing files to surfing the web with
greater ease and efficiency. Leave hang-times, freeze-ups and other
fragmentation-based crashes in the dust.
Diskeeper 2008: A Disk Performance Revolution
Diskeeper 2008 Professional is unlike any other product on the
market today. Now, more than ever, it is important to have a system
that is reliable and performs at the peak of its ability.
Remember how your PC or laptop ran when it was new? Diskeeper 2008
has been designed to keep your system faster than new. Simply install
Diskeeper 2008 and your computer will run faster and more reliably
than it ever has before.
The Power Of Frag Shield
Frag Shield 2.0 is a feature which dynamically prevents
fragmentation of critical system files, maintaining system stability
and reliability. It helps you configure your MFTs (Master File Tables
– the place where information about every file and directory on an
NTFS hard drive is stored) and paging files (a hidden file on your
computer’s hard disk that Windows XP & Vista uses as if it were
RAM) as recommended by Microsoft. Following these guidelines will
help you keep these critical system files working their best. Your
system will not slow down from fragmented MFT’s or paging
files.
Frag Shield 2.0 is comprised of two components: the MFT
configuration tool and the paging file configuration tool. These
tools allow you to set up your MFT’s and paging files so that
fragmentation will be very unlikely to occur in the future.
{mospagebreak title=The Review}
The Review
Since this was a media copy, there was
no packaging to review. The actual product can be ordered as a boxed
software package or as a 30 day trialware download. The media copy
disk is the same color as the packaging found on the Diskeeper
website.
Installation is straight forward, just
click on the install file and follow the instructions. Diskeeper
2008 is supported on Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, Windows
Server 2003 and Windows Vista.
Once Diskeeper 2008 Professional is up
and running, the main windows features three panes. The left hand
side is comprised of four tabs – Getting Started, Volume
Properties, Analyze and Defragment Now and Configure Diskeeper. Each
of these tabs contains subcategories that bring up a new pop up
window with more options.
The top right pane lists the drives on
the PC and whether they are setup for Automatic Defragmentation, Boot
Time Defragmentation and if Frag Shield is running.
Finally, the pane that fills up the
lower right of the frame shows detailed information of the selected
drive volume. This information includes the Dashboard, Log and
History.
Just below the Menu Bar is the Toolbar
which features icon representations for many of the above listed
tasks.
Found under the Getting Started section
is the Quick Launch tab which is ideal for beginners to get Diskeeper
2008 Professional up and running. Also found is the Diskeeper
Overview which describes the different versions of Diskeeper and
identifies which version is best to use for the home user, the power
user and the system administrator. There is also a FAQ and a Help
section under this section.
{mospagebreak title=The Review pg2}
The Review page 2:
The Volume Properties header shows the
types of defragmentation that is available: Automatic, Boot-Time and
Frag Shield. Automatic Defragmentation allows the setting of
invisible defragmentation of drives behind the scenes.
Boot Time Defragmentation is used to
defragment files at boot-time that cannot be moved safely when
Windows is running.
Frag Shield is described as “keeping
your MFTs defragmented automatically, and monitors paging file usage
and makes suggestions to keep it performing at its best. Since the
operating system relies heavily on the MFT and paging file, the
effect of fragmentation is often much greater than when a normal file
is fragmented.”
Under Analyze and Defragment Now,
Diskeeper allows the user to manually defragment any volume on the
PC. There are options to set the CPU and Disk Priority for improved
management of system resources.
Finally the Configure Diskeeper heading
includes: Diskeeper Configuration Properties, Updates and Upgrades
and About Diskeeper.
Now what makes
Diskeeper 2008 special is the InvisiTasking technology. InvisiTasking
technology guarantees that Diskeeper will use only system resources
that would be otherwise be wasted (idle time). Diskeeper is designed
to be run automatically in the background, so if you run Diskeeper
manually note that additional resources are required to continually
refresh the user interface. This technology allows Diskeeper to
perform real-time defragmentation to continually keep your disk
volumes in top shape, and ensures your computer’s performance is
never slowed down by the defragmentation process itself.
Now there are several different home
edition “flavors” of Diskeeper and some may be better suited than
others for you system. For instance, if you have a single volume
greater than 1 terabyte, than you will need to get either the Pro
Premier or Home Server version. For single volumes greater than 2
TB, than the Home Server version is the one for you. I mentioned
I-FAAST 2.0, this File Optimization system is described:
Intelligent File Access Acceleration Sequencing Technology [I-FAAST] 2.0 improves file access and creation on NTFS volumes by up to 80% above and beyond the improvement provided by defragmentation alone.
When I-FAAST is enabled on a volume, Diskeeper runs specially-engineered benchmarks on the selected NTFS volumes to learn their individual performance characteristics. (Not all disks have the same characteristics.)
Diskeeper then transparently monitors these volumes for file access frequency on an ongoing basis in to determine which files are requested most often. Special analysis techniques prevent Diskeeper from being “fooled” by files that have been recently accessed.
Unfortunately, this is only included on the Pro Premier version.
For testing, I used my main PC which houses three SATA drives; one Western Digital Raptor 74GB and two Western Digital 320 GB. In addition, I have a 500 GB eSATA drive and a 500 GB USB Western Digital MyBook drive.
Defragmentation was done manually on all the drives. Attached are before and after defrag results for my C: drive. For system drives, Boot Defragmentation runs Diskeeper 2008 before the OS starts.
Setting automatic defragmentation kept the drive well organized and with minimal fragmentation.
Diskeeper 2008 Professional runs in the
background without any noticeable hit to the performance of the
system. Occasionally, you will hear a drive become active while
Diskeeper 2008 works its magic in the background.
Summary and Comments
Diskeeper 2008 is a fantastic program
that does its job well, it also works silently in the background and
“on the fly”. Your PC will run faster after the first defrag.
There are many versions tailored for specific user needs. In terms
of PC maintenance, do yourself a favor and have Diskeeper installed
on your system!
DragonSteelMods gives Diskeeper 2008
Professional a 5 out of 5 score and our Editor’s Choice Award as
well.
Pros:
-Runs silently in the background with
InvisiTasking
-Defragments system and page files
-Allows Boot Defragmentation
-Manual defragmentation is very quick.
-Easy to set up and use
Cons:
-None
I would like to thank Diskeeper for the chance to review Diskeeper
2008 Professional and for their support of DSM.
review#477